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Welcome to The Encyclopedia of ArdaThe Encyclopedia of Arda is a personal project - a tribute to and a celebration of the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. The site is evolving into an illustrated hypertext encyclopedia of Tolkien's realms and peoples. It already contains about four thousand entries, and we're constantly adding new entries and expanding existing ones. Inside the encyclopediaThe Encyclopedia of Arda contains thousands of articles covering topics from J.R.R. Tolkien's world, some brief, some lengthy and some containing detailed essays and discussions. You'll also find a selection of interactive tools, including a chronicle to help you explore Tolkien's fictional history, and calendar to translate dates and events, a lexicon of names, a glossary of old and rare words, and much more. Context and approachThe content of the Encyclopedia is written in the same context as Tolkien himself used; he presented himself simply as a translator, rather than originator of the tales. Hence, we try to describe his world from a 'historical' rather than a literary perspective, though sometimes it's useful to explore ideas in their wider context. Where relevant, therefore, you'll also find a few references to Tolkien's life or opinions, or to real historical or mythological parallels to events in his universe. About the name ArdaArda was the name given by the Elves to their world and all it contained, and so 'Encyclopedia of Arda' seemed a peculiarly apt title for this project. Special thanksThanks to all those who've e-mailed us over the years with their suggestions, corrections, ideas and just general support. But the real Special Thanks, though, belong to the memory of J.R.R. Tolkien for his extraordinary and unparalleled creation. For acknowledgements and references, see the Disclaimer & Bibliography page. Original content © copyright Mark Fisher 1997-2024. All rights reserved. For conditions of reuse, see the Site FAQ. Website services kindly sponsored by Discus from Axiom Software Ltd.Discus is a powerful, flexible DISC profile solution - find out much more in our free guide. |
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Featured EntrySouth-realmGondor, the southern Kingdom of the DúnedainDuring the later Second Age, the lands around the Mouths of Anduin were already populated by many Dúnedain. For the most part these were followers of the Faithful party, friends of the Elves and opponents of Sauron who had been driven out of their homeland by the Kings. In the closing years of the Age, a cataclysm befell when the island of Númenor sank beneath the Sea, and a great wave surged out of the western ocean bearing storm-tossed ships. Aboard these ships were Isildur and Anárion, the sons of Elendil of Andúnië. As heir to the Lordship of Andúnië, Elendil was the chief of the Faithful, and so his sons were able to establish a new realm in the shadow of the White Mountains. Their father Elendil had been driven ashore far to the north, and founded his own realm there, so that there were now two Kingdoms of the Dúnedain in Middle-earth. The land of Isildur and Anárion was thus the South-realm of Gondor, which they ruled under the High King, Elendil their father, who dwelt in the North-realm of Arnor. |
